Protection
by inkheart9459
Summary: Miranda knows there's something wrong with Andrea, just as she knows everything that goes on within the walls of Runway. She hasn't quite figured out just what yet, but she knows when she does she wants to help the girl. It's only because she's only of the best assistants she's had of course. Nothing more. Right?
1. Chapter 1

anon prompt from tumblr: "Miranda and Andy aren't in a relationship and Andy is still working for her. Andy is pregnant but she doesn't know it, she thinks she's just gaining weight,she starts eating less to compensate. Miranda sees something is wrong and thinks she knows what it is and she talks to Andy, and basically tells Andy she thinks Andy is pregnant and to go to her doctor. Andy gets scared and Miranda comforts her and gets all protective." Enjoy.

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><p>Miranda was aware of everything that went on in Runway. Every single thing. Her employees thought her deaf, dumb, and blind about things that didn't happen in her presence, behind closed doors or whispered in bathrooms. But she had her ways and she found out everything, if not immediately, then soon after. What kind of editor-in-chief would she be if she didn't know everything?<p>

Which of course meant that she knew that something was rather wrong with Andrea. It can been going on for weeks now. The girl spent the morning running back and forth from the bathroom while fielding calls from top designers around the globe and helping Miranda's life run more smoothly than it ever had before with more ease than some of her employees had chewing gum and walking at the same time. But even though she knew it was happening, doesn't mean she knew exactly what it meant. Oh, of course she had her suspicions, but there were a great many things that it could be and it wouldn't do to ask about it until she had more evidence.

"About bloody time you got back," Emily snarked in her usual way.

Miranda looked over her glasses out into the outer office. Andrea shrugged and went over to her desk.

"Sorry, the line for the salad bar at the cafeteria was really long." Andrea's voice was quiet, more subdued than normal. She hadn't been quiet as vibrant since Paris and Nigel, but this was different.

"Oh so the smart, fat girl has finally got the message and started eating something other than corn chowder." Miranda could practically hear the eye roll in Emily's voice.

"Yeah, well, I got down to a size four without selling my soul to cheese cubes. It's just that lately no matter what I do I seem to be gaining weight. I'm back into the size six things Nigel gave me at the beginning. So salad bar."

That comment caused Miranda to pause for a moment. Constant trips to the bathroom and weight gain ruled out her suspicion that the girl had some sort of eating disorder or some other health problem. But it certainly pointed towards one eventuality. Miranda went through much the same thing when she was pregnant with the twins.

Miranda sat back, taking off her glasses and placing one of the ear pieces on her lip. It had been two months since Paris. The timing would make sense with the symptoms. That math worked out so it could be the cook boy's child or perhaps the worse eventuality of Christian Thompson's child. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense, to the point where she was almost positive of her conclusion.

She wondered if the girl even knew. She was a smart girl, surely she could put two and two together, but then again she was so young and it might not be her first conclusion. Or it could be denial and Miranda was well aware of how potent denial could be. Or it could just be that she was trying to keep it quiet until she was forced to reveal her secret. She was a young woman and freshly single, there would be those who would frown upon her pregnancy. With the way Runway was run she might even be afraid she would lose her job.

Fierce protectiveness reared its head at that thought. No, she would not let the girl be fired. But first, she needed to know if all of this thinking was on the right path. A good hypothesis meant nothing without data to support it. And so she waited. The girl would be in here soon enough with her lunch and she could speak with her then.

Twenty minutes later Andrea came in carrying the tray with her normal steak from Smith and Wollensky's. She set it on the desk before Miranda and made to exit the room.

"Andrea," she said quietly. "Shut the door and sit." She gestured to the chairs before her desk.

Andrea looked like a deer in the headlights. She had lost a great much of her fear of Miranda, but that didn't mean that out of the blue requests didn't make her wary. Miranda had no illusions of her capriciousness, but her utter changeability worked well in the world of fashion, if not in the world of corporate America, and so she couldn't bring herself to care.

"Yes, Miranda?" The girl asked, sitting down in the chair indicated, right on the edge like she was about to bolt at any second.

"You've been ill rather a lot recently," Miranda led in. How she responded would tell a great deal about if she knew or not. Miranda wasn't always one hundred percent accurate at picking out liars, but she was good enough to land her in current position as head of a fashion empire.

"Uh, yeah, I don't know what's been going on. I'm trying not to let it interfere with my work life though, so I'm sorry if it has, but I'll try better."

Miranda held up her hand to stop the girl. She would babble on until the cows came home and then some if Miranda didn't stop her. She still got glimpses of the nervous girl she had hired months ago when Andrea was on edge enough. She would almost find it endearing if it wasn't at the most inopportune times.

"Andrea, it's not interfering in your work. The office is running as smoothly as it always has, save for Emily's rather pronounced annoyance at your frequent absences, that however is more her problem than yours." She waved off the concerns with a flick of her fingers.

Andrea relaxed slightly, but her shoulders were still tense. "Then, what did you need, Miranda?"

"Have you been to the doctor about the problem, Andrea? Goodness knows I can't have an assistant collapse on me, that would only intensify the rumors that you all spread that I kill off assistants and goodness knows everyone here has enough distraction with gossip as is."

The girl swallowed visibly. "I, uh, haven't really had time to go. Or…" she trailed off, obviously thinking better of her words.

"Or?" Miranda cocked an eyebrow.

"Or the money to go. With, uh, Nate gone I just have enough money to pay the bills and eat. Runway's insurance would cover most of it, of course, but right now I don't really have the twenty bucks or whatever it would cost me. And then I really wouldn't have the money for any meds they would give me. And it's not that bad so I'm just toughing it out. I'll be fine. I won't collapse on you or anything." Andrea's hands fidgeted in her lap, fingers twisting themselves into odd patterns and wringing around each other.

"You really don't know what's wrong?" she tilted her head.

Andrea shook her head.

Miranda stood up. "Come along, Andrea." She walked around her desk, listening to Andrea scramble up behind her to follow her.

She emerged into the outer office and looked at Emily. "Clear the rest of my day. Rearrange what you must to make that happen. That's all."

Emily gaped at her for half a second before setting to work with all the frenetic energy that could be packed into a five seven red head that subsisted on cheese cubes.

Miranda turned back to Andrea. "Come along. Oh, and Emily, call Roy. I want to be picked up by the time the elevator reaches the ground floor."

She couldn't say that her lips didn't quirk at the small distressed noise that made its way out of Emily's mouth. The girl made it far too easy to fluster her, but she always did come through.

Andrea walked with her to the elevator banks, wide eyed, obviously not knowing what in the world was going on. She kept glancing at Miranda out of the side of her eyes. Miranda for her part pretended not to notice.

She pulled her Blackberry from her purse and punched in a number. It started ringing almost immediately. The elevator doors opened and Miranda stepped on, motioning for Andrea to come into the car as well. That caused the girl's frenetic energy to ratchet up another notch. Honestly.

"Hello?" A slightly accented English voice asked.

"Martha, how are you, darling?" she said, putting just a little more effort into her greeting than usual.

"Right in the middle of a full load of patients, Miranda, but I think you already knew that." Martha sounded as amused and she did annoyed. Miranda could work with that.

"And so I did."

"So why don't we cut to the chase. You wouldn't call to chat in the middle of the work day, so what do you want?"

"One of my assistants needs an appointment."

Andrea beside her perked up and looked over at Miranda. Miranda didn't look over, watching her reflection in the shiny metal in front of her instead.

"She dying? Because that's the only reason I could imagine you calling me for an assistant. Your girls, yes, but an assistant?"

"It's a rather…delicate situation and I trust you to handle it well."

Andrea looked even more curious at that. The journalist in her was parsing out the meaning to Miranda's words and she knew there was more to it than just the fact that she herself was broke and couldn't afford a doctor's appointment. There were plenty of free clinics around the city if that was all.

Martha sighed. "Alright, alright, get her here as soon as possible. But you so totally owe me dinner sometime soon for this."

"I believe that's a fair trade. We'll be there as soon as possible." With that Miranda hung up and slipped her phone back into her purse and stepped out of the elevator just as the doors were opening.

She strutted through the entryway of Elias-Clarke, the sight of people clearing the way before her cheering her as usual. Andrea hurried to keep up with her pace, too busy concentrating on not falling at such speeds to question Miranda.

But then they were out in the cold December day and Roy was already there as promised. Oh, Emily was good, but Miranda would never tell her that. Roy opened the door for her and she slipped in, relishing the heat even after the relatively short trek in the cold. The next second Andrea was beside her and they were off.

Andrea turned to her. "Miranda did you just call in a favor for me?" Her brow was scrunched, confused. Confused enough that she had broken one of Emily's rather ridiculous rules about asking her questions. My, she had rattled the girl.

"In a way, I suppose. Martha is a friend, a real one, not like the great many of the 'friends' of mine that you've met." Once upon a time before La Priestly had been a thing, Miranda had shared an apartment with Martha while she had been doing her residency and Miranda herself had been climbing the ladder at Runway. They had absolutely nothing in common, but somehow had become rather good friends. Miranda had stopped questioning it long ago.

"All that she asked was for dinner in return for the rush appointment and it isn't like we don't meet for at least one meal a month, so it really depends on your idea of a favor, Andrea."

Andrea's face just got more confused as she processed the information. "Ok," she drew out the sound. "But then why did you say it was a delicate situation?"

Miranda looked the girl over. She wondered if it was better for Martha to break the news to her, or to just get the idea out in the open now. After all, Miranda herself could be wrong, but when Martha told Andrea the news she wouldn't be wrong. The girl could have some time to deny the idea, time to get used to it, before her bubble was popped. Though would that be better or worse?

"Andrea, have you ever considered that you could be pregnant?" Better just to dive in with it, she supposed.

Andrea sat back like Miranda had punched her. "Um, no, that's not possible."

"Is it really? Two months ago you were in Paris having an unadvised fling with Christian Thompson. Before that you were involved with your cook. You're telling me that it's not possible at all?"

Andrea's mouth flapped like a fish. Honestly, it was like the girl had forgotten that she knew just how she'd come by the information of Irv's plot to overthrow her. Or perhaps it was that Miranda was speaking rather frankly about her sex life. She didn't know which was worse. Both implied a level of stupidity that she knew the girl didn't have. Of course she knew exactly what happened between those in a relationship, she had two twin daughters to prove it.

She just arched her eyebrow and waited for Andrea to reply instead of voicing her scathing comments, however.

"Uh, um, I guess it's possible, but I mean, we always used condoms, Nate and I. And with Christian I wasn't going anywhere near him unless he had a condom on. God even knew where he'd been."

Miranda snorted at that. God probably didn't even know all the places that boy had been.

"And you're telling me that condoms never fail."

"No, but I mean, I just…" Andrea blushed bright red and fell silent. "Miranda, I can't be pregnant. Not in the, there's no possibility way, but in the I can't have a kid way. I'm barely making it. I have nothing to offer a child right now," Andrea finally said after a long silence.

Miranda knew that feeling, the not having anything to offer a child. What they hadn't been able to offer at the time was different. Miranda had no time to offer a child. She was always on the go, always on the move, heading up Runway and whipping it into shape after taking over. She wasn't sure she would be able to offer love either. Her mother had been so very lacking in love. She'd had no example and she'd worried and worried every single night of her pregnancy over that fact, but still she never even harbored the thought of getting rid of them.

"I mean, I would like to be a mom one day, don't get me wrong, but not right now. I have no financial stability, no partner, which I mean isn't necessary, but it would help, you know? And I don't have any family here to help and make up for all the things I don't have. I don't even have friends anymore. They left with Nate. They blamed me for the split. And I'm sad they left I'm kind of glad because they all wanted me to stay the same, but never changing wasn't why I came to the city. But this is too much change too soon. I wanted to be an established journalist before all this happened. And I know it's still possible to do, but…" Andrea took a deep, shuddering breath.

Miranda could take no more. She reached out and grabbed Andrea's hand. "Andrea. I may not exactly be your friend, quite the opposite, really, but I will be here for you through this, whatever you decide to do. I have faith that you will make the right choice for yourself. After all, you're one of the best assistants I've ever had and the only one I've ever said as much to. If that doesn't tell you how intelligent and level headed you are, I don't know what will."

Andrea looked at her, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Why?"

The corners of Miranda's mouth turned up. "I told you in Paris that your remind me a great deal of myself. You didn't react favorably to the comparison for good reason after what I did to Nigel. I maintain that you are much like me, however, there are a good many ways you differ from me, one of which is your unfailing kindness. Consider this a way to protect you from becoming wholly like me."

Andrea's head titled to the side slowly. She blinked back the tears and looked at Miranda with clear brown eyes. Miranda's heart stuttered a little at the sight and she wondered what all that was about, but waved the thoughts away. Those could be dealt with later.

"You're not bad, Miranda. Sure, you have flaws, we all do, but people could do a lot worse than becoming just like you."

That brought a true smile to Miranda's face. "Oh, I'm sure. I'm not bad, but I'm not good or nice either. I'm just right to play the witch in everyone's stories that they go home and tell their friends and family."

"But they don't have the whole story. Not when you do stuff like this."

Miranda smiled. "No one has the whole story, Andrea, except for me." The car pulled up outside of the office building where Martha had her offices. "Come along, Andrea, you can figure out what you choose later, for now confirmation of the problem might be more important."

She stepped outside the car and strode to the entrance, Andrea once more on her heels.


	2. Chapter 2

So yes, to all of you who caught the reference, there was an Into the Woods reference in the last chapter and I thank you all for getting it. I kinda super love that movie. A lot. But here's the next chapter, enjoy.

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><p>Andy took a deep breath and then another. Miranda's words were still echoing in her head. Pregnant. She might be pregnant. Now that she actually thought about it in that light it made complete and utter sense. She was surprised that she hadn't seen it herself, but then again there was always something to do with Runway that she really hadn't had time to think.<p>

She glanced over at Miranda. They were sharing yet another elevator car on the way up to whatever doctor Miranda knew. Martha, she said her name was. Andy tried to remember if she had seen the name before. She made all the reservations for Miranda for dinners and such, but she'd never seen the name. Either Miranda put her under a different name or took care of everything herself. Which, since she had said Martha was a good friend the second might be the best option.

She couldn't quite understand why Miranda was doing this. Things between them hadn't really changed since Paris, yet here she was, being the kindest Andy had ever seen her. Hell, she was being the kindest person to Andy in a while. When things had started to go bad with Nate he had stopped being the nice, loveable guy he had been and so had her friends. It was so entirely jarring that Miranda was the one to step into that void. It was almost enough to make her forget that she might be pregnant.

She might be pregnant.

The thought hit her again like a brick to the side of the head. She swayed a little bit where she was standing and then suddenly Miranda's hand was on her back steadying her. She leaned into the touch, grateful for it. She wasn't sure she could stay upright in four inch heels right now without support.

Then the doors of the elevator were opening and Miranda's hand left its place on her back like it had never even happened. This was so surreal she might just wake up sometime soon to discover this was all a dream. Part of her hoped that was what happened. The other part wanted to stay and see if this kindness from Miranda could last.

The two of them walked down the hall and into a suite of rooms that turned out to be a rather posh doctor's office. From what Andy could tell it was definitely something that those of the upper crust would go to and definitely something Andy could never afford. Nausea settled into the pit of her stomach.

Miranda marched up to the receptionist. "Miranda Priestly, I believe Dr. Jones should have spoken with you recently about my arrival."

The girl immediately stood up and nodded enthusiastically. "Of course, Miranda. Let me just check that the room she wanted you in is in order, the others were just straightening things out." She disappeared and reappeared quickly, Miranda barely even had time to scowl. "Right this way, ladies."

She led them back through a winding hall and to a room that was definitely different than any of the doctor's offices that Andy had ever been in. It looked more like a room out of a luxury hotel than an exam room. The receptionist gestured over to the standard doctor's office table, except this one was made out of what looked to be mahogany and real leather.

"A nurse will be with you in a moment to take your basic information." She smiled at them and left just as quickly as she had come.

Andy resisted the urge to kick her legs into the examination table once she hoisted herself up. She had way too much pent up energy. She felt like pacing the room but she had a feeling Miranda would appreciate that just about as much as she would appreciate her banging her seven hundred dollar Manolo Blahnik's into the wood of the table. It was probably fashion blasphemy or something. But she felt like she was about to crawl out of her skin and she needed to do something.

"So, uh, how do you know this doctor? You said she was your friend, but how did you meet?"

Andy looked over at Miranda, watching her. She couldn't quite bring herself to feel bad for asking a question when she was so damn nervous. Miranda looked hesitant to answer, but eventually opened her mouth anyway.

"Long before I was editor-in-chief she was my roommate."

"Oh." That was so very plebian for someone like Miranda Priestly and not what she was expecting at all. She was really expecting them to have met at some sort of smoozing event, but then again, even Miranda had to have a less glamourous past.

"No one ever thinks I've been anything other than the head of the fashion industry. How short people's memories are." She sounded amused in that rather deadpan way of her.

Andy really didn't know what to think of it. "Well, you carry it off as if you really always have been. It's hard to imagine you as anything else."

Miranda hummed, an affirmation that she had heard Andy's comment more than anything else.

Andy went back to trying desperately not to fidget. She hoped that the nurse came soon. If this was a normal doctor's appointment Andy wouldn't even dream of a nurse coming anytime soon, but she was in the room with Miranda, that usually speeded the normal timeline of things up just a bit.

If she couldn't move then her brain was going to start going through each and every single eventualities that this could end up in and she'd probably slightly panic herself. Well, probably more than slightly. Probably a lot. She made plans and executed them, but this was something that defied that. How was she supposed to plan when she didn't know a thing really. You couldn't really plan living from one paycheck to the other just trying to take care of a kid, could you?

Andy brought a hand to her mouth and started to chew on her thumbnail.

"Andrea, stop that, you'll ruin your nails. The makeup department did not paint your nails with those designs to have you just chew them right back off."

Andy took her thumb out of her mouth and blushed. "Sorry, I'm just—"

"Nervous, I'm well aware. You've been on edge since before we left Runway and I imagine the news that your might be pregnant has not made the situation any better."

"Uh, yeah, not really." Andy glanced at Miranda. She was perfectly composed as normal, legs crossed primly, sitting back in her seat with perfect posture. Andy wondered if this is how she had been when she had found out she might be pregnant with the twins. Probably. She couldn't imagine Miranda being anything _other_ than perfectly composed.

The nurse chose that moment to appear from the ether, knocking on the door twice before entering the room. She was the tiniest Hispanic woman Andy had ever seen, barely pushing four ten if that, with the brightest smile that put most of the Runway models to shame, not that they ever smiled much.

"Hello, I'm Liz and I'll be taking down your basic information for the doctor, height, weight, blood pressure, and all that. So what brings you in?"

Andy hesitated. Should she just go ahead and tell the nurse that she might be pregnant or should she list her symptoms and let everything be deduced by the doctor? She was about to respond when Miranda took the choice away from her.

"She believes she might be pregnant based off of repeated nausea and vomiting in the mornings along with spells of dizziness as well." Miranda looked over at Andy, eyes prompting her to add anything else pertinent.

"I've been a little more tired than usual, but I just wrote it off because I don't usually get a lot of sleep." Andy looked firmly at Liz and not at Miranda. Her boss would totally read between the lines of that statement. She didn't get a lot of sleep because her job at Runway was more like a twelve hour shift than an eight hour, if not longer most days. "And I've been gaining weight, but not really eating more than I did before."

Liz nodded, wrote everything down on the chart in front of her. She asked Andy to hop off the table and took her height and weight measurements, then sat her back down to take her blood pressure and ask her an endless list of questions. Frankly, Andy would have preferred those little forms they always gave you at a new doctor's office. It probably would have been faster, but then again she didn't suppose that the super rich people who frequented this office ever actually deigned to do their own paperwork, so there was that. When she was done Liz disappeared with another smile and a promise that the doctor would be with her as soon as she could.

Andy sighed and fought the urge to lay back. She was just so very tired and all this stress wasn't helping at all. But Miranda was still there, and no matter how nice she was being Andy didn't want to push her luck. After all, she wasn't in sweat pants and tank top, she was in a Bill Bass skirt and Chanel shirt. She would probably be murdered if she wrinkled anything. Instead, she just put her head in her hands.

"Are you alright, Andrea?" Miranda voice was closer now.

Andy peaked out of her fingers to find Miranda right by her side, with her hand outstretched like she couldn't quite decide if she wanted to touch Andy or not. Hesitant Miranda was something she hadn't quite seen before. Well, that was a bit of a lie. She had seen something back in Paris, but that wasn't exactly hesitation was it?

"Yeah, I'm fine, just tired."

"After this Roy will take you home. Emily can bring me the Book tonight. No matter what is wrong with you, you need rest." Miranda's hand finally came that little bit forward and started to rub small circles on her back.

Andy stiffened for a half a second before relaxing into the touch. She had almost forgotten what comforting touch had felt like. Since Nate had left there hadn't been any. In fact, she hardly had any physical contact with people at all besides an occasional brush of fingers and the even rarer half hug, half air kiss that she got from people at parties. Her eyes drifted shut again and she kept her head in her hands.

"Until whatever is wrong with you is figured out you will come to work at nine and leave at five so you may get the proper amount of rest. If you are pregnant we will revisit this upon the confirmation." She kept up the circles on Andy's back.

"Ok." Andy took her head out of her hands. She met Miranda's eyes, softer than she had seen them ever and as open as they had been in Paris. This was all so odd. And as disconcerting as it was it always also comforting.

Miranda nodded, patted her on the back a few times and walked back to her seat as if nothing had happened. Andy looked out of the corner of her eye at the older woman. The woman was a mystery wrapped in an enigma and that might be an understatement.

There was another knock on the door and an older black woman stepped through with a kind smile and no nonsense air about her. She stepped forward with her hand extended.

"Hello, Andrea, my name is Dr. Jones."

"Andy, please."

Dr. Jones looked over at Miranda. "I suppose she doesn't let you get away with that nickname, does she?"

Andy glanced back to see a scowl flash across Miranda's face. "Of course not, Andrea is a beautiful name."

The doctor snorted lightly. "Same old Miranda, different assistant. She call you Emily for the first few months too?"

Andy turned back towards the woman. She heard Miranda's disgusted noise in the background.

"She did." A smiled pulled at the edges of Andy's mouth.

"A fully fledged initiate then, you are. Whatever she tells you, she hasn't called for any of her assistants to see me before, so you must have made quite the impression. Whatever I put you though today will be nothing in comparison to whatever is going on at Runway."

There was a winter storm front brewing in the corner of the room and its name was Miranda. Andy was a bit astounded at the way the woman talked about Miranda, right in front of Miranda. She either had a death wish, or she was really a true friend as Miranda had said. It was strange to see. Even Nigel didn't have the power that this woman did. Or maybe Nigel just didn't have the balls that the woman in front of her did. Either way, it was odd to watch. Normally Miranda would have torn into a person by now with her usual icy fierceness, but all she was doing was stewing.

"Oh, Martha, enough." Miranda rolled her eyes. "These antics are never funny."

Dr. Jones smirked. "I think they are pretty damn funny and if you didn't find some grain of truth in them we both know you'd have been all over me. Don't think I don't know how to read between the lines of your stories."

Miranda huffed again and sat back in her chair.

"Now, Liz tells me you've been experiencing an increase in fatigue, nausea and vomiting in the morning hours, weight gain, and spells of dizziness?" And just like that the woman was in business mode.

Andy nodded. "Yes."

The doctor pursed her lips. "Your blood pressure was completely within normal range, if a little on the low side, that could explain the dizziness, but not the other symptoms. Unbutton your shirt please so I can listen around."

Andy complied and unbuttoned it as quickly as possible. She glanced over at Miranda but glanced away again just as quickly. Miranda had seen more than enough half naked women for this to be a nonissue for her. Andy just had to act like it wasn't an issue for her and everything would be fine. Even if it was slightly freaking her out just a bit. But then again who wouldn't be a little weirded out sitting in the same room as their boss with their shirt unbuttoned?

The doctor listened to her heart and lungs as soon as Andy had complied. Next she had Andy lie back and gently probed different areas of her abdomen. She stepped back after that and looked down at the chart she had.

"You can button up your shirt again, Andy. I don't feel anything abnormal that would indicate any kind of irritation of the digestive system. Everything reads as quite normal, really. Your last sexual encounter was two months ago?"

Again Andy nodded. There was no way she was speaking up at that instant. Sure, Miranda already knew, but this was just a whole new level of awkward.

"And the only form of birth control you were using was a condom, not the pill."

"No, I have some interesting reactions to most birth control."

The doctor nodded along. "Alright, since everything is reading as normal, the most likely thing is that you are indeed pregnant, but I'll run a full round of blood tests on you just to make sure it isn't something else as well as a urine test."

Andy sighed and tried to control her heart rate. She really didn't like needles, but in this case it was necessary and not something like a flu shot so she was going to have to tolerate it.

"Ok, um, I'm kind of freaked out by needles so…" she trailed off.

Dr. Jones nodded. "I'll send Liz back in then. She's the best one in the office."

Andy sagged just a little bit. "Thank you."

"If you do happen to be pregnant, you'll need to come back for another appointment of course. We'll discuss the options you have then." She looked over Andy carefully for a few seconds. "Free of charge of course. I love racking up dinners that Miranda here has to pay for." She smiled at Andy kindly. "Now, if you'll follow me we can get the urine test out of the way."

Andy followed her obediently and went through all the tests required. Liz had come back in and stuck her with a needle and taken her blood before she had even realized what was happening. The woman was very good. Even so Andy had shaken just a little after Liz had left with four tubes of her blood. She really did _not_ like needles.

Miranda had been by her side in a second, rubbing her back again. "The twins aren't fond of needles either. They say this helps."

It did. But mostly the oddness of the whole situation took her mind off of things and helped the most. Andy would take whatever worked.

They walked out together again and into the car. Andy sunk down into the leather of the Benz and sighed. It was over for now. It would be a couple days before the lab work came back and until then Andy could forget this was happening for a day or two. It wasn't like a couple days would really make a difference now. Whatever choices she had would still be there in three days. She would still be just as trapped, really. She had no money to keep the kid if she was pregnant and she had no money to have an abortion either. God, even if she did, did she want one? She didn't know. It might be better for her in the long run, and it a weird was, for the kid as well. If she didn't have the money to support it and give it what it needed then it was probably better off not being born.

She massaged her temples this was so not what she wanted to be thinking of right now. She was going to not think about it for a few days. That's what she had told herself. And it had been minutes and she couldn't do it.

"Honestly, that woman," Miranda shook her head.

Andy looked up at her.

"Her bedside manner has always been atrocious. She's far too loose with her tongue at times as well." Miranda huffed and stabbed the keys of her Blackberry like she was murdering it.

Andy looked over her face carefully. Miranda was being her normal huffy and indignant self, but something was off. Her facial expression wasn't quite right. If she had to guess, Miranda might actually be…amused? under everything.

"I only keep her around because she's the best private practice doctor in the city."

Andy almost said something to the tune of she didn't believe the woman, but instead she went for, "I'm sure, Miranda." And if there was a little bit of laughter in her voice then who could blame her. For all the ice the woman exuded it looked like there might be something downright warm and syrupy underneath.

Miranda, for her part, picked up on the disbelief instantly and glared at Andy. Andy was cowed enough to shut her mouth, but she couldn't quite wipe the remnants of a smile off her face. She spent the rest of the ride wondering just what kind of friendship the two women really had and wondering just how much of the fashion industry would die if they knew Miranda had a true friend who didn't work in fashion.

Roy stopped in front of her apartment twenty minutes later. Andy moved to get out but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"I want to see you no earlier than nine in the morning tomorrow, Andrea. I will take care of Emily and anyone else that need be."

Andy nodded and hesitated for a second. Miranda hated to be thanked and she knew that, but in this situation she felt like it was truly deserved. "Thank you."

Miranda just stared at her for a long moment. "You're welcome. Tomorrow then, Andrea, that's all."

Andy had to hold back a laugh at the normal dismissal. It sounded almost…affectionate wasn't the right word, but warmer than the normal order. Things were so very different and yet the same. She didn't know what was happening. Then again, when had she since she came to the city.

She waved goodbye and climbed up to her apartment and promptly changed into sweat pants and tank top and fell into bed. It didn't matter for now.


	3. Chapter 3

Actually managing weekly updates, woohoo. Enjoy guys.

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><p>Andy was sitting at her desk at Runway three days later when the call from the doctor's office came in. She answered it without even looking, much too used to having to answer every call even if she didn't recognize the number for Runway purposes.<p>

"Hello?"

"Hello, this is Aria from Dr. Jones's office, may I speak to Andrea Sachs, please," a pleasant female voice said.

"This is her," Andy said, distractedly typing in something into her computer.

"I'm calling with your results from your visit to Dr. Jones's office."

Andy froze, fingers still poised above the keyboard ready to hit the next letter. "O-oh, um, ok. What did the tests says."

"The blood work came back completely normal, however, both the urine test and your blood work confirmed that you are, indeed pregnant. Dr. Jones wished to see you again to follow up on the results, do you know when you're available?" Aria asked, voice still cheerful as if she hadn't just dropped a bomb on Andy.

"I, um." Andy didn't know quite what to say. Miranda had been so very supportive three days ago, but that was three days ago. The woman was ever changing at the best of times and completely unpredictable at the worst. "Um, I guess as soon as possible and if you have anything early in the morning that'd be good."

The woman on the other end of the line hummed and Andy heard typing in the background. "There's an appointment tomorrow at ten a.m., someone just cancelled actually."

Andy swallowed. If worst came to worse and Miranda was being her normal capricious self again she could just get Emily to cover for her for a couple hours. She'd have to sell her soul to the Brit in favors to make up for it, but she could manage.

"That's fine."

"Alright, I'll put you down for that time slot and we will see you tomorrow."

"Ok, thank you." Andy hung up the phone and stared at it for a very long time after that. She was pregnant. There was no if anymore. It was a reality. She was pregnant.

Oh. Holy. Shit.

Andy closed her eyes and held back the urge to cry. She was strong. She would get through this as she always had. She finally set her phone back on her desk and finished typing what she had set out to do who knew how long ago.

She tried to work valiantly, she really did but her brain was still elsewhere despite her best efforts. It was turning over the puzzle pieces of the problem she was in, trying to get everything to fit in a neat, perfect order. Except all the pieces were jagged, from completely different puzzles with ends cut off and new holes punched. She didn't know what to do. Her life had been mostly neat up until this point, everything fitting together and if there were a few missing pieces she filled up the spaces easily enough. But this she just couldn't.

"Andrea?"

Andy jerked back from staring at her computer screen. She looked up to see Miranda standing over her. "Oh, um, sorry, Miranda my mind was elsewhere for a sec. What do you need?" She drew her ever faithful notepad to her, looking up at the older woman expectantly.

"Andrea, my office." She turned and walked through the doors in a flurry of heel clicks. "And pull the doors on your way in."

Andy took a deep breath as she stood. Emily looked up at her with an eyebrow cocked, wondering just what she did for Miranda to call her into a closed door meeting twice in one week. Andy just shrugged at Emily and walked through the door, pulling them shut behind her as instructed.

"Sit," Miranda commanded and Andy got the strangest sense of deja vu.

She went and sat in exact same chair and looked up at Miranda once again. Miranda sat down in her own chair calmly and looked back at Andy, eyes a shade or two darker than their normal ice blue. Andy wasn't sure what to make of that. They turned a stormy almost grey when she was angry, but she'd never known them to get bluer. Perhaps it was just her shirt playing tricks on her.

"Andrea, what has you out of sorts?" Miranda asked, crossing her legs at the ankle and tucking them back behind one of the legs of the chair.

"I, um, Dr. Jones's office called me earlier." Andy looked out the windows behind Miranda and took a deep breath, looking at the sky scraper across the street.

Miranda waited for a long moment for Andy to go on, but when she didn't she prompted her. "And what did Martha's office have to say?" Her tone was that gentle one that she seemed to be becoming a trend whenever she talked about Andy's current situation.

"That I am actually pregnant. Everything else on the blood work was normal, but I am pregnant." Andy closed her eyes and swallowed. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't.

"When do you go back for your next appointment?"

Andy didn't even bother to open her eyes. "Tomorrow at ten."

She heard Miranda's chair squeak quietly as the older woman leaned back. "I'll have Roy pick you up tomorrow at nine fifteen. That will allow plenty of time at the tail end of morning rush hour to get you to Martha's office." She paused for a moment. "Andrea, would you like me to come along again, or would you rather go alone?"

Andy blinked her eyes open at that. Miranda's face was completely sincere. She truly wanted to know what Andy wanted and would go with whatever she said. Andy thought about it for a few long moments. She had no one else to go with, no one to support her, no one to help her make the decision about what to do. Whatever she decided now, she had a feeling would set the precedent for the rest of the pregnancy, however much was left of it at least.

"If you, um, could come with me, I'd like that."

Miranda smiled, slow, open, and almost tender. "Then that's what I'll do." Another blink and Miranda was back to her normal self again. "Oh, and call Lucia, tell her that the new line that Armani is putting out is absolutely horrid and if she wants space in any Runway for this season she's going to have to give me something that is actually usable."

Andy nodded. "I'll call her right now, Miranda."

"That's all then."

Andy stood from her chair and walked back to her desk. Stranger and stranger, she thought as she picked up the phone to make some else's day hell. To deny she might have felt at least a little zing of pleasure at the thought would be lying.

The next morning she was bouncing on her toes in her apartment long before Roy was ever supposed to arrive. She couldn't bring herself to relax. She had taken off her heels to give herself a little more leeway in her pacing. It wouldn't do to make her feet kill her before she ever stepped foot in Runway. That would just make her day that much better.

Andy had to stop herself from running her hand through her hair. It had been a nervous habit before she'd joined Runway and then she'd trained herself out of it. After all, who wanted to mess up their hair when they had spent forty minutes on it that morning? But now it was back with a vengeance. How was she supposed to control her nerves when this had so very many consequences?

Andy paced and paced, watching the minutes tick by. What was she going to tell Nate? Was it even Nate's baby? It really could be Christian's. God she had slept with both of them in such a short time frame, one last fuck with Nate in a vain attempt to try to fix everything at the last second and then two weeks later with Christian in Paris. Was there even a way to tell without a DNA test if everything was that close together? She groaned out loud, sound startling in her almost empty apartment. Nate had taken a great amount of stuff when he had moved out while Andy was in Paris. She hadn't blamed him, really, he'd helped pay for everything, he did at least deserve a few things. But honestly, taking the couch and TV both had been a shitty move.

God, what if the kid was Nate's? He'd want to do the right thing by the kid, he'd probably want to get back together or something stupid like that. Andy didn't want that, that was the last thing she wanted. Nate would go right back to badgering her to quit her job at Runway, saying it was too stressful on the baby, that she needed to be home to take care of the kid like it was suddenly the fifties again.

But what if it was Christian's? She scowled at that. That was a grey area. She didn't know him well enough to really guess. She had known Nate for five years, dated him for four. She could practically recite word for word what he would say to the news of a baby. Christian she couldn't quite decide if he would be overbearing, offer to help and be in the kid's life but let Andy have most of the control, or complete just blow off responsibility. Her gut was going with either of the last two being the most likely. He was a slimy guy in the business world, but he had appeared decent enough personally, the sliminess could be his whole personality or it might not.

This was all contingent on if she was keeping the kid or not. She didn't have to tell anyone if there wasn't a kid to keep. Was she keeping the kid? The question had been spinning in her head for the last three days. She didn't know. She really and truly didn't know. There were options other than abortion, she could have the kid adopted, but that would involve a great deal of drama, especially if the father was Nate. It wouldn't give the kid up without a fight and he'd make Andy feel like absolute shit while doing it.

Oh god, what about her parents? They were loving and supportive, but they were still Midwesterners from the bible belt. Andy could hear the I still love you, but I'm disappointed in you speeches. It wasn't exactly like Andy had wanted this to happen. She had been careful. She had always been careful. But life had an insidious way of finding means to exist despite the odds and she had been on the wrong side of those odds.

Andy's phone rang, startling her out of her thoughts. She picked it up immediately, recognizing the shrill ringtone. Miranda was calling.

"Hello?" she asked in a strained voice. Her muscles were tense and her heart was beating faster than normal. She had worked herself up without really realizing it.

"Andrea, I've texted you twice. Roy and I are sitting outside your building." Miranda's voice was sharp and chiding and so very reminiscent of the cerulean lecture.

"Oh, um, sorry, Miranda, I guess I was just a little spaced out."

She heard the pause on the other end of the line. "Yes, well, your presence would be appreciated, Andrea, before Roy gets a ticket for illegally parking." The line clicked off in the next second.

Andy stared at the phone for a second before shaking her head. She had to be imagining things, but she swear Miranda's voice had softened on her reply. But Miranda didn't do that. She didn't back down from being a bitch.

Whatever, she slipped her heels on and grabbed her coat and purse and was out the door and rushing down the stairs. Roy was waiting, leaning against the passenger's side door. He smiled at Andy and walked her around the car, opening her door for her. Andy slipped inside and came face to face with Miranda. The muscles that had been tense enough to snap in her apartment finally relaxed just the tiniest bit. She sighed and let the warm leather seat hold her up.

"How are you doing today, Andrea?" Miranda asked, scrolling through the email on her Blackberry.

Andy thought that question over for a few seconds. It was a simple question, but right now nothing had a simple answer. "I don't know," she answered honestly.

Miranda turned to her then. "What was it that had you so distracted in your apartment, Andrea? You are normally very diligent about answering promptly, but there were a good twenty minutes between my messages and you didn't respond."

"I was just thinking." She fidgeted with her hands in her lap.

"Andrea, I do believe you know I hate when people are vague."

Andy had a hard time holding a snort back. Of course the woman who was the vaguest person she ever met would say something like that. It was totally Miranda.

"I was thinking about what I was going to do about everything. I still have no idea." She looked out the window. "There's really not a winning situation here. It's not exactly an easy choice to make between screwed and screwed in a slightly different way."

Miranda's hand came to rest on top of one of Andy's stilling the fidgeting that was still going on. "Andrea, wait until Martha lays out your options. She's very thorough, there may be something that you hadn't thought of yet."

Andy watched the buildings of the Lower East Side whip past as Roy drove on. "How could there be, Miranda? I either keep the kid, get an abortion, or find someone to adopt the kid. Except I still don't know which one of those I want to do, let along figured out any of the problems that go along with each one of them. For that I'd have to make a choice. Up until now my hardest choice was if I was going to go to law school and please my parents or follow my dreams to become a writer, and that wasn't exactly that hard."

Miranda squeezed her hand gently and didn't say anything for a very long time. Andy looked at her from the side of her eye. She looked to be deep in thought. Andy wondered just what was running through her mind. Everyone underestimated Miranda because of what field she worked in, but anyone who worked at Runway knew differently. The woman was almost a genius in how she could twist and turn business and fashion together so easily, two opposing worlds worked together for her in ways no one else could mimic. To have her so deep in thought was an odd occurrence.

"I said I would help you through with whatever choice you made, Andrea, and I meant that. Keep that in mind, but make the right choice for you. Martha will lay out the options as I said and somewhere in that head of yours you know what you want, it's just hidden by doubt." Miranda's eyes were on her, intense as always, pinning her in place. "And doubt is something I thought I trained you out of by now. You are not that stuttering girl who walked into the Runway offices almost a year aog. You are a strong woman. Go with what feels right. It's all you can do."

Miranda stayed silent for a few seconds after that, looking over Andy's face. Andy didn't know what exactly she was looking for, but she must have found it because she turned away and continued on.

"Most people assume that the twins were planned, after all I was so late in having children and I'm Miranda Priestly. I plan everything, or so most people believe. Gregory had wanted children when we first married. I did not. Working for me, I think you can imagine who won out in the end. I cloaked in words of wanting to focus on my career, of course, and to an extent that was true. I was art director when Gregory and I married and the editor-in-chief of Runway was on his way out. I had my eye on the position ever since I had picked up my first Runway back in the East End and I wasn't about ready to let it slip through my fingers. Three years later I was where I wanted to be, the freshly crowned queen of fashion when I found out I was pregnant."

Miranda paused for a few seconds, shoving her Blackberry back into her purse. Her hands came back up and started to play with the rings on her fingers. It was the least composed Andy had ever seen the other woman save Paris.

"I was terrified that I would lose all that I had just gained. But mostly, I was terrified that I had nothing to give the girls. Not in the material wealth way, because I had more than enough of that for ten families to live happily on, but I was afraid I had no love to give. Andrea, I did not grow up in a good home. We were poor immigrants to England and my mother was a witch of a woman that loved no one at all. It made it even worse than it had to be. And I was afraid that I would be her. It took me a while to realize that was what hiding behind my career had been about. I set my mind to something and it is executed, as you well know. I would not have lost my job no matter what. But love to give? That's something that can't be gained no matter how you try. The thought crossed my mind to get rid of them, I won't deny it, but that's all it did. No matter how much I worried, or how often that thought came up I never seriously contemplated it. I knew I was going to keep those girls from the minute Martha told me that I was pregnant. The hard part was coming to terms with that decision. And perhaps that's what you're going through and perhaps it isn't. We all drown differently I suppose."

Andy looked at Miranda, blinking a few times. She wasn't quite sure that what had just happened had really happened. Miranda had been so very god to her the past few days, sure, but she had just opened up to Andy in a big way. She knew the significance. No one knew anything about Miranda other than her work habits and about her divorce, still being finalized even with the strings Miranda had pulled. There was nothing about her past, certainly nothing so personal as fears about not being able to love.

She reached out and grabbed one of Miranda's hands in a mirror of her earlier gesture. She squeezed gently, but said nothing. She wasn't exactly sure there was anything to say in the face of that. She hoped that Miranda knew how thankful she was, though, to be let in like that not once, but twice. Miranda squeezed back, barely there, but it still was, and continued to stare out the window.

They pulled up at Martha's office building again. Andy let go of Miranda's hand with one last glance at the woman. There was so much about this that she didn't understand, but she found that she was beginning not to care. Both of them got out and rode up to Martha's office and walked inside.

Again, it was top notch treatment. Andy wasn't quite sure if she could ever get used to it, being treated as one of the elite. She knew she shouldn't considering. This would evaporate at any time Miranda wished it to.

Liz came in again, took her vitals all with a smile, and disappeared back out the door. Andy wasn't nearly as nervous this time, waiting for Dr. Jones to come through the door. She was almost calm, or at least as close to it as she had been for a very long time. Her and Miranda sat in silence in the room, not uncomfortable at all, and waited.

Dr. Jones came in a little later, kind smile still in place, but a little more frazzled than the last time Andy had seen her.

"Ah, Andy, back again. Sorry for the wait, flu season is really starting to kick up and the upper crust is always so insular they always get sick all at once." She flipped open Andy's chart and looked at the vitals Liz had just taken. "Everything still looking good." She looked at Andy again, sparing a millisecond's glance to Miranda. "Have you decided at all what you would like to do, or would you like me to give you a rundown of all of the options that you have?"

Andy opened her mouth to tell Dr. Jones to give her options, but what came out instead was different. "I'm going to keep the baby." She scowled the next second. She hadn't meant to say that, but the more she turned the words over and over in her mind the more she realized that that was what she wanted to do. She would do what she needed. If that meant moving home to Ohio, then so be it, but she was keeping this child. She would make her dream of journalism come true no matter what. She had always been a hard worker and a baby did not change that.

Both of the other women in the room were surprised as well. Without seeing Miranda Andy knew that the older woman was sitting up just the slightest bit straighter, waiting for the stuttering, or whatever was to come next. It didn't. Dr. Jones hid her surprise better, but her smile fell just for a half second before becoming just a little bigger than before.

"All right then, I've prepared a list of OB-GYNs in the area who do good work and will do pro bono work. The ones with stars are the ones with openings. They do most of their free work out of clinics, but I figured on your pittance of a salary it would be well worth it." Dr. Jones glared at Miranda. "Really, Miranda, you need to pay the girls better so they don't starve to death, despite Emily's will to only live on cheese cubes."

There was no rebuttal to that from Miranda. Andy almost didn't believe it.

"Your first appointment should be with them as soon as possible, and from your last missed period it should be time to get your first ultrasound within the next month to month and a half. Of course your OB-GYN will go more over that. But, I'll go ahead and give you the name of a good prenatal vitamin you need to start taking immediately." She ripped off a sheet from her prescription pad and pulled out a thin file from behind Andy's chart. She handed it to Andy before going on.

"In there is a good bunch on information on being pregnant, foods to eat, foods to avoid, exercise regulations, things of that sort. For now just basically keep doing what you're doing with the diet modifications and you should be fine. And if that one is helping you along, I'm sure she'll have some pointers to help you along the way. As long as she lets you sleep at normal hours and doesn't call you at three a.m."

Miranda snorted at that. Andy almost busted out laughing. Emily was going to get those calls just so Miranda could spite Martha, she knew, and Emily was going to kill Andy later. She couldn't quite bring herself to care.

"If you have any questions between now and your first OB appointment, don't hesitate to call my office. One of the girls will corner me eventually and call you back with an answer, usually within twenty-four hours. For what it's going to be like, you're going to have to ask that one." She gestured back to Miranda. "My wife and I adopted. But I can answer any medical questions of course."

Andy's head was spinning just a bit, but she smiled at Dr. Jones. She thumbed open the folder and saw a myriad of colorful sheets of paper and pamphlets. She'd read over them after work. She shut the folder and looked back up at Dr. Jones.

"And of course regular visits to your regular doctor or me if Miranda wants to keep paying for dinner are also encouraged."

"Thank you." Andy smiled at the woman.

"Of course, dear. Anyone who can survive that one deserve a little help every now and again." She came forward and shook Andy's hand. "And with that, I have more flu patients to treat, but you take care of yourself and really, I mean it, call the office with questions."

"I will."

Dr. Jones looked over at Miranda and smirked. "See you for dinner on Friday." And with that she left.

Miranda and Andy made their way back down to Roy again. They rode in silence to Runway to start their day of work. Andy was happy for now, still so very, very worried, but happy.

"Andrea?" Miranda asked, a few blocks from Runway.

"Yes?" Andy turned to look

"Thank you for listening." She didn't look at Andy while she spoke. Andy didn't think the older woman had it in her.

"Always." And just like she knew her answer about keeping the baby was true, she knew this answer was true as well.

Miranda sighed so quietly Andy almost missed it and she relaxed just slightly. Andy smiled, warmth filling her for a few minutes until the car pulled to a stop and Miranda was getting out, firing orders off as usual and another work day was started.


	4. Chapter 4

Ok, so I'm not on break anymore, but I'm still going to try to update this story regularly while still filling the prompts I have on tumblr. So far, and it's only been two weeks so bear with me if i'm wrong, it's take about a week to fill a prompt and a week or so to churn on another chapter of this. So I'm aiming for an update every two weeks, depending on the length of the prompt and the length of the chapter, yada yada, slightly disclaimer-y stuff and such. So, bear with me and you've all been great so far with that, so enjoy.

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><p>Miranda walked into Smith and Wollensky on Friday night, cold wind swirling around her as the door closed. The hostess came forward, practically falling all over herself. Miranda just waved her off. They always gave her the same table when she was here, Miranda thought that they kept it purposely empty anymore just to deal with her rather capricious dining habits and lack of notice. She found she didn't care as long as she had a table and decent food.<p>

Martha was sitting at the table, waiting for her, on time as she always was. Miranda found herself smiling, or at least smiling as much as she allowed herself to in public. Martha spotted her and stood, stepping out from her chair to hug Miranda. Miranda hugged the woman back, not trying to maneuver the gesture into air kisses as she would normally with anyone else.

"Hello," she said as she stepped back from the embrace.

Martha sank back into her chair and smirked up at Miranda. "Hi there."

Miranda sat in the seat opposite and made a show of spreading out her napkin in her lap. She was glad to be at this dinner with Martha, she was, but she had a feeling given everything that had happened of late that Martha was going to question her until her Jimmy Choos fell off her feet. As much as she loved Martha, she never looked forward to her interrogations.

"So how have you been? Anything explode at Runway this last week?"

Miranda looked over at Martha. She wasn't one to beat around the bush. That was one of the things that Miranda liked about her. If she was taking the roundabout way to something, Miranda should be wary. Instead, she relaxed back into her seat and nodded approvingly as a waiter poured some red wine into her glass. She took a sip and sent him away with a wave. It would do just fine.

"Nothing out of the ordinary happened I supposed. I work with people whose imaginations have shriveled up long ago, the designers are uninspired as always, and the photographers are over dramatic. But, despite that, everything for the next issue seems to be coming together nicely enough."

Martha laughed. "Over dramatic, aren't you calling the kettle black there, pot?"

Miranda scowled. "You and I are both well aware of the lengths that I go through in order to get the magazine to press on time. If I must act in a rather…overbearing fashion to get that done consistently, then I will."

Martha shook her head. "Almost thirty years we've known each other and yet you still don't change. Makes me wonder how you do it, especially after all that money you got." She snorted.

"One could ask the same question of you. If I recall the diet of ramen and peanut butter than you lived on in med school accurately, you are doing quite well in comparison now."

The waiter arrived to take their order. Miranda ordered her normal steak and Martha ordered some sort of mac'n'cheese dish that made Miranda scrunch her nose.

"You really ought to lay off the red meat, Miranda." Martha shot her a disapproving look.

"Says the woman who just ordered a meal full of cheese and carbs." Miranda arched an eyebrow.

"Hey, I only eat like that when you're paying." She shrugged.

"If what you said to Andrea is any indication, then you might be eating a great deal more like this, then."

"A few more hours in the gym to work everything off won't hurt me." There was a playful glint in Martha's eyes, but Miranda could see past it, she just wasn't sure what was lying underneath.

"Whatever you say." Miranda rolled her eyes. "How is flu season going?"

"Same old, same old, everyone rich gets sick at the same time, and they always wonder why I can't snap my fingers and make them better. Normally I just tell them that's why they should've gotten their flu shots instead of ignoring me for a trip to Venice. They don't take too kindly to that, but they can't ever deny my logic." She smirked.

Miranda scrunched her nose. "Why Venice. Such a dirty city, now Florence or Milan I could get behind."

Martha just stared at her. "It was an example, Miranda. You know how people are about their shots. If they're going to some exotic place they're right at my door for the necessary shots, but ole flu shots don't get the time of day." She shook her head.

"What about Andrea? Can she get a flu shot? I remember you lecturing me about staying away from sick people when I had the twins."

"Oh, she can, and she should get a shot if she hasn't already. She can't get the nasal drip, but she most definitely can get the shot."

Miranda bit the inside of her lip. "I will have to ask her then if she's gotten the shot yet this year. If her finances are as tight as she says they are then I thought think not." She made a mental note to ask the girl tomorrow. Perhaps she would text her and ask after dinner just to make sure she didn't forget.

"How have the girls been?" Martha asked, snapping Miranda out of her haze.

"Oh they're fine. Doing well in school as always. Cassidy is determined to give up soccer for fencing and I'm more than a little apprehensive. I know that they take the utmost precaution, and yet, it's still something rather resembling a sword."

Martha waved her hand, dismissing her concerns. "She's twelve, Miranda, you put her in lessons she'll probably tire of them soon enough. Gabby went through soccer, lacrosse, basketball, and hockey before she settled on softball. It's the age where they try all different things to find what they truly like. And if that turns out to be what she likes, well, I'm under no illusion that you'll put your assistants to work finding the best and safest person out there to teach her."

Miranda frowned, but found that she couldn't disagree with Martha's assessment. She always had been able to get to the true heart of things quickly. It was probably one of the things that made her such a good doctor.

"Fine, fine, perhaps you are right. I just thought soccer was bad enough, I suppose." She took a sip of her wine.

"Uh huh, because it wasn't girly enough, I know. We've been over that one."

Miranda's cheeks heated just a bit. She was sure that the makeup she had on would hide the blush though, thank god. "Yes, I do recall the rather…heated discussion we got into on how I shouldn't force gender roles onto my children, along with a vast myriad of sources that you sat me down and made me read. You know, most people in your position would've been black balled from ever practicing again in any first world country."

Martha snorted. "Yeah, well I'm not anyone. I've been here to keep your ass in line since the eighties."

Miranda shuddered. "Don't remind me of that ridiculous decade."

"Uh huh, that's only because you don't want to remember how much hairspray it took to keep your hair in that god awful poofy monstrosity." She laughed.

The waiter set down their first course while Miranda attempted to set the other woman on fire. Martha dug in like she wasn't in imminent danger. She hummed in pleasure.

"I love this place. The food is always divine."

Miranda let a breath out through her nose. Well, at least on that point they could agree. She took a bite of her own small salad and sighed. Food after a long, long day was always such a comfort. She knew a great many of the Runway gaggle would die if they knew she actually enjoyed food, but Miranda saw no reason not to, it was fuel after all and for as much money as she was paying for it, it better well taste good and she should enjoy it.

"How is Gabby?" Miranda asked after she had chewed her first bite.

"Same old, junior year is kicking her butt a bit. She took an upper level writing seminar for one of her gen ed requirements because it sounded interesting, but with the rest of her work in her other classes and her internship she's juggling a lot. I told her she'd regret it, but I'm a mother, what do I know." She shrugged good naturedly. "Good thing about her being twenty-one is now she admits readily when I was right." She laughed. "I don't want her to struggle, but being right and being acknowledged for it is such an odd feeling after her fifteen year old self."

Miranda hummed at that, indicating she heard, but her mind was off in another world, thinking about what the girls would be like at fifteen. Absolute terrors probably, considering they had her headstrong genes and Gregory's impulsive ones. She dreaded the thought. But then again, hopefully she had done enough that the girls would turn out all right no matter the level of eventual teenage angst. She could only hope.

She had fleeting thoughts of Andrea's future child, wondering what it would be like in its teenage years. All she could picture was a small version of Andrea with an excessive amount of eyeliner. She knew she shouldn't find the image cute, but it did have a certain visual appeal. The girl did have such big eyes after all.

"What's the writing seminar she's in again?"

"Something on the conflict between Israel and Palestine, I forget the exact name of the class, but that's what it's about. She talks me through the different elements when she needs to study for a quiz or needs feedback on a paper. Nina still hasn't quite mastered the art of giving anything but gushing praise to Gabby." She smiled, warm, content and loving. She popped the last bit of salad in her mouth and set the plate aside.

"Hmm, I wonder if Andrea knows anything about that conflict. Seeing her ambition to be a journalist, I would think so. I'm sure she would offer to help Gabby if you asked. Surely it would get me out of at least one dinner."

Martha shook her head. "Nope, you aren't getting off the hook that easily. I'm still doing you a favor. But if it would make Andy feel better about this whole thing by being able to contribute something, then I wouldn't be against her helping Gabby if she wanted it." She shrugged.

"She would like that. She feels unduly stressed when she feels she hasn't earned something." Miranda was already off and running on the idea. Gabby would agree to the help if Miranda suggested it rather persuasively. Then again, with a heavy class load it wouldn't take much persuading, she thought.

Martha nodded. "Hard worker, I noticed that about her just from talking to her."

Miranda hummed her affirmative.

The plates from their first course were whisked away from the table and their entrees were set down.

"And Nina?" Miranda asked, picking up her steak knife and slicing in the meat before her. She waved off the waiter once again once she had deemed it acceptably cooked.

"Not so great this week." Martha picked at her food for a minute. "She lost one of her pro bono cases. As a psychologist she's prepared for that eventuality of course, but it's still hard, especially since she worked with this girl for the last five years or so. Her funeral is next week and she plans to go, but I think she'll be in a funk for a little while."

Miranda reached out and squeezed Martha's hand. "Give her my condolences."

Martha nodded and smiled at Miranda, a small brittle thing. "I will. She might die of shock, but I will."

Miranda refrained from rolling her eyes. Martha had always relied on humor to clear the air after something heavy. She supposed she had to have some sort of coping mechanism as a doctor.

"You and I both know that is not true," she huffed. "You, and therefore Nina, are important parts of my life, not Runway staff. I'm free to show emotion around you. Though sometimes I think you abuse that privilege. Nina is the only other one who can keep you in line besides myself."

Martha snorted. "I'll agree with the Nina part of that statement. When have you ever kept me in line?"

Miranda arched an eyebrow. "I recall in your residency days, I think it was at the end of your second year, that you had the smart idea to mix tequila and vodka together after a particularly bad shift. I'm the one who took the alcohol away from you before you were on the floor in a coma."

"Second year was a nightmare, do you blame me?"

"Yes, your next shift was three days after that and you certainly didn't need to spend that time in the hospital."

"Fine, fine, you saved my ass. I'll give you that, but name one time after that. That was the eighties, it was a different time and I was young and stupid. But when I was older, one time?"

"Fred Marlow."

Martha shut up immediately. "Alright, fine, we both keep each other in line. Is that a fair compromise for you?"

Miranda nodded. "I suppose."

"You just need me around to keep you in check at Runway and maybe people wouldn't run in terror." Martha grinned.

"I find that anymore, Andrea does a rather fine job of that, perhaps not to your specifications, but I believe I've become…calmer at points. I can be calmer when my life runs so smoothly. The girl really is a godsend."

Martha leveled her with a stare. "Ok, Miranda, I have to ask you what's going on with her. It's one thing to like an employee and help her out once, but that's not what this is for you, I know it. Not only have you been to the office with her twice and offered to keep our bargain going where you pay for dinner for me, you've mentioned her five separate times the entire time we've been at dinner and you're only halfway through your steak. And from the look on your face at points you've thought about her more than that. You never mention anyone that frequently unless it's the girls. So, what in the world is going on?"

Miranda was taken aback by the observation. She thought back on their conversation and found that it was indeed true, she had mentioned Andrea a fair number of times and had thought about her even more than that. She scowled, but surely that didn't mean anything. Andrea was a good assistant, and she cared for her in a way. She just wanted to help the girl because she was truly one of the best assistants she'd ever had.

"Nothing is going on, Martha, I'm just helping the poor girl out. Her boyfriend was a glorified man child and she's struggling. I'm allowed to care for my assistants, am I not?" She gazed imperiously at the woman in front of her.

"Sure, you're allowed, Miranda, but in the entire thirty years I've known you, you've never done something like this. You're a wonderful person to those close to you, and you're fair to your employees, if a little overbearing, but I understand that's for the benefit of the magazine, but you never get close to your employees. Never once, even when you were a peon working your way up. Sure, this girl maybe be your best assistant, but from the stories, so is Emily, and you and I both know that you wouldn't be here with Emily. You'd leave a list of physicians lying on her desk without her knowledge, certainly, but you wouldn't go with her to appointments and you definitely wouldn't pay for them in a roundabout way. I'm your best friend and I don't know what's going on, and I'm not sure you do either."

Miranda set her silverware aside, no longer hungry. "I'm not sure what you're implying with all this talk."

Martha threw up her hands. "I don't think I do either. I'm just trying to understand and I can't. If I understood maybe I could imply things, but." She shrugged.

Miranda stared at her friend for a long moment. Her brain was trying to process what Martha could possibly be thinking. Martha had always been a rather open book to her, but now was not the case. She had no idea what was going on and it unsettled her. She had taken a special interest in Andrea, certainly, but the girl was special. She was like Miranda herself and unlike her at the same time. She could be an influential, world changing woman, if only someone helped her along the way. She didn't understand what was wrong with that someone being her. Perhaps it was a little out of character, but not enough to be worrying.

"Let's just put the whole thing on the back burner for now," Martha finally said, pushing her plate back. "And you totally owe a slice of chocolate cake too."

Miranda smirked at that. "Only if you split it with me."

Martha waved her away. "Fine, fine, as long as there's chocolate." She laughed. "God, do you remember those stupid little cheap chocolates we used to live off of because we couldn't afford anything else, not even Hersey's?"

And then the dinner was back on track and Miranda relaxed into her seat again, smiling at the memory that Martha had brought up. But in the back of her mind, her thoughts were still turning over and over trying to figure out a problem that she wasn't sure had an answer.


	5. Chapter 5

Andy returned to work on Monday a little more calm and collected. It had been almost a week since she had found out that she was pregnant. Almost half a week since she had said she was going to keep the baby. She'd had time to come to terms with everything now. And she was still worried, so very worried about everything, but as Miranda had said, once she set her sights on a goal there was no way that she would be denied. Perhaps Miranda's comments in Paris weren't so off base.

She sat down at her desk and got everything ready for the day. Everyone around her was in early and scrambling around in a panic. There was a run through at one o'clock that Miranda would inevitably move up to at least eleven at the latest and people wanted to be done much before then just in case. Andy never had quite understood why they waited until the last minute to do their jobs. Maybe it had something to do with inspiration and the lack thereof, that she could understand, but if it was laziness, then she could at least partly see why Miranda liked to spring time table changes on the magazine as a whole.

Miranda herself wasn't due until nine, though, just as with the run through, Andy thought that might be up for debate too. The girls went off to school was seven forty-five. There was no need for Miranda to come in late today. Andy felt herself smiling at the thought of seeing Miranda a little earlier today. They hadn't spoken much over the weekend, but all of the previous week she had just been so supportive it warmed Andy from the inside. It was so nice to have someone who encouraged her after so long of lukewarm friends and difficult exes.

The time past quickly in a haze of confirming Miranda's reservations for the day, a lunch meeting at Nobu, a fitting for the dress she'd wear to the annual new year's ball, an afternoon meeting with a photographer that was going to be featured in one of the upcoming issues, a typical day for Miranda. By the time Emily came in with coffee and Miranda's daily stack of magazines, just waiting for Roy to drive Miranda the last couple of blocks to Elias-Clarke, Andy had most of her work done. She smiled it was always a good day when she didn't have to play catch up after Miranda's first round of orders.

Nigel's normal shout for everyone to gird their loins rang out and Andy smiled. He walked in and placed a few stacks photos on her desk and smiled at her.

"Looking chipper today, Six, not so green around the gills."

Now that he mentioned it, the morning sickness hadn't been so bad today. She'd thrown up once at her apartment right before she shoved some eggs in her mouth before charging out the door, but that was it. Wow, it really was going to be a good day. She smiled wider.

"Nope, good to go today."

Nigel nodded. "Good, good. These are the prints from the Winter in the Park shoot. Have her look over them and get back to me. I'm sure there will be a couple she wants the colors tweaked on."

"Ok." Andy collected everything together with her little notepad. She'd give Miranda the photos after her first round of orders.

"And with that, I'll be gone before hurricane Miranda appears." He chuckled and was back through the glass doors only a minute before Miranda herself whirled in, throwing her coat and bag on Emily's desk as per normal.

Andy hurried into Miranda's office after her, scribbling down her orders for the first part of the day.

"Tell Nigel I want those proofs on my desk before the run through. Move the run through up to eleven, I will not take excuses if anything is late or unfinished. If that means I have to fire someone then so be it. Confirm all of my meetings and reservations. Call Hermes and order a new round of scarves, something in the light blue and grey line, winter-ish colors if you will. Patricia needs to go to the vet soon for her shots to be updated. I expect an appointment for her before week's end. Cassidy needs a math tutor. The one at Dalton is not doing a satisfactory job and as bright as Cassidy is, algebra at ten seems to not quite click and she refuses to listen to her sister." Miranda sighed. "I told her a B was completely respectable, but wants the higher grade and who am I not to facilitate that." She shook herself. "Call Westwood and let them know I want to move up our meeting for their showing to next week. Move around what you must. Prada has an order that must be picked up. And I need a copy of Runway's budget from last year. Irv is on the warpath yet again. You think he would've learned after Paris." Miranda rolled her eyes and tossed her head, throwing the white forelock off to the side of her face.

Andy nodded, having scribbled everything down in a barely legible hand. She turned to go accomplish the first list of tasks, but Miranda stopped her.

"Andrea, sit."

Andy scrunched her brow before turning around. This was how all of their conversations had started about her pregnancy, but why would they be talking about that now? She hadn't started calling around to the free clinics yet to set up her appointment for her first checkup. Miranda would have known that. She had told her last week that she was waiting a few days, taking in the choice she had made and all the consequences before moving full speed ahead.

When she sat down Miranda picked up her coffee and sipped it, looking over the rim at Andy. "Have you called around this morning for an appointment?" Miranda asked, voice quiet, aware that Emily was probably listening. She was an incredible gossip.

Andy shook her head. "Haven't had time yet."

"Good." Miranda rustled around in her purse and pulled out a card. She slid it towards Andy. "Tell the receptionist there that you are a friend of mine. She will take pains to make an appointment for you. The doctor is the one that delivered the twins and I trust her implicitly. I hate to think what kind of care you would get in some sort of free clinic, or what diseases you could catch there." Miranda's lip curled and she shivered, movement just barely visible.

Andy stared at the card in her hand. It was on thick paper, textured and rich. Another high end doctor, obviously. "Miranda I can't."

Miranda hushed her with a wave of her hand. "Andrea, you do more than enough for me to justify a few doctor's visits. The money is of no consequence, especially the pittance we pay in copays on our insurance." Blue eyes stared at her, entirely earnest. "I really do want you and…" she trailed off and glanced down at Andrea's stomach, a smile just barely ghosting across her face. "to have the best care there is out there. Martha is right, Elias-Clarke does not pay assistants enough anyway."

"Miranda I just can't take money from you like this. You're already taking up the visits with Dr. Jones. I couldn't possibly."

Again Miranda silenced her. "There is something you can do for me in that matter. Andrea, how much do you know about the conflict between Israel and Palestine?"

"I mean, I always keep up to date on what's happening over there and I wrote a research paper on the origin of the conflict once, but I'm not an expert by any means. Why?"

"Martha's daughter Gabby is a junior in college in an upper level writing seminar based around the conflict. She's struggling and needs assistance. Gabby is a science major through and through and writing doesn't come easily to her. You, on the other hand, are a very talented writer. Become her tutor for the remainder of the semester. It is my understanding that college tutors get paid a good wage per hour. Consider that in exchange for the doctor's visits if you must."

Andy tilted her head to the side. "Uh, ok. I'm not exactly sure how that pays you back, though."

"She's my goddaughter, Andrea. Doing something for her is doing something for me."

Andy nodded slowly. "Alright, then, if you'll get me in contact with her, I'll gladly help her out."

"Good, good. I'll give you her contact information later." Miranda set her coffee down. "Now tell me, have you gotten your flu shot yet?"

"Uh, no?"

"That won't do. Pregnant women need their flu shots. Martha will take care of it, I'm sure. Make that appointment after you talk to the OB-GYN. Chances are you won't even need an appointment for such things, but better to be certain."

Andy didn't even know what was happening right then. She was a little bit floored. Sure, Miranda had been a lifesaver the week before and helpful to a fault, but this was just above and beyond. "Yes, Miranda," was all she could say.

"Good. That's all."

Andy blinked and stood slowly, making her way from the room in a daze. Emily looked her over and cocked an eyebrow. Her face clearly said that she believed that Andy had just gotten yet another chewing out and was so very smug about it. Anymore since Paris Emily had been the one getting scolding from Miranda, not that Andy had been completely immune, but things had shifted in Paris between them even before the pregnancy. There was a mutual respect there now that had only been one way before.

She let Emily think whatever she wanted to think and walked to her desk and sat down. She had to call both doctors, but then again there was a rather long lists of tasks to get done this morning too. And she knew what to do to get everything done for Miranda. She wasn't quite sure about everything else.

And so she took out another sheet in her notebook, wrote down the errands that would have to be done out of the building, and handed it to Emily. Emily huffed, hating that she had to be the one to fetch everything, but Miranda had made it so last week. At least she was off her crutches now so it wasn't so difficult. Once the red head had gone in a whirl of nervous energy Andy sat down and started to google respectable tutors for Cassidy.

But her mind kept wandering back to Miranda, still so very confused. Helpful was one thing, but she couldn't even figure out what this was. Especially in relation to Miranda. For Miranda, helpful was not making a disparaging remark on a bad hair day, at least when those people weren't the twins. And her whole reasoning about not allowing Andy to become like her only extended so far, didn't it? And paying for her doctor's visits that weren't to a close friend was definitely across that line. So was asking about whether she had her flu shots. Miranda expected everyone to be fully self-sufficient.

Her mind spun round and round. She turned away from her computer and stared at the surface of her desk. Finally her eyes saw the photos in front of her. Shit. She had forgotten to give Miranda the photos that Nigel had dropped off in her confusion. She sighed and stood up, scooping up the photos and walking back into Miranda's office.

Blue eyes looked up at her, a haughty brow arched. "I don't recall calling for you."

That settled Andy's mind a little bit. Even with everything she wasn't immune to the snark. It was comforting. "Sorry, I just, I had these earlier and forgot to give them to you." Andy placed the photos in front of her and turned from the room.

"Thank you, Andrea."

Andy blinked again, shook her head just slightly and walked out. Wonders would never cease.

When she was done with the list of tasks Miranda had given her, Cassidy had a tutor and everyone who needed called had been called. Emily wasn't back yet from Prada and Hermes. All she had to do was man the phones until the next slew of orders. She tapped her fingers on the desk. Might as well call Dr. Jones's office about the flu shot.

She picked up her cell phone and dialed. Within ten minutes she had a pseudo-appointment for over her lunch break. She hoped against hope that Liz would be the one to give her the shot. She avoided them most years unless strictly necessary. She shivered hard. Needles. She'd have to take a slightly long lunch, but she figured Miranda wouldn't mind since she'd demanded that Andy go in the first place.

She drew out the business card and looked at the number for Miranda's OB-GYN. If called and made an appointment she was really accepting all of this. Did she want to? She didn't want to be beholden to anyone, but Miranda wasn't making it like that. She was almost making it like a favor to a friend in a way. It wasn't like Miranda didn't have the disposable income to do so, but that was beside the point. This was her boss, her cold, sarcastic, capricious, multi-layered, caring, and so very hard to understand boss.

But she wanted Miranda to be by her side through this as her friend, her only friend at the moment, not that that mattered much. Miranda would have been the best person to help her through this even if her other friends had been talking to her. Somehow it seemed she cared more. And to accept that Miranda was going to be with her through this meant to accept sweeping gestures like this. Andy thought that if she really pushed she could force the issue and end up going to one of the free clinics that Dr. Jones had given her information for. But she really didn't want to. Free clinics were wonderful, but if she had the option to let another person get the care they needed instead of taking their place when she had other options. There would be other, better things to push the issue on later, Andy was sure of it.

She punched in the number and hit the call button. Two rings later a woman with a smooth voice answered.

"Dr. Patel's office, how may I help you?"

"Hi, I'd like to make an appointment." Andy bit her lip and wondered if she should throw Miranda's name out now or wait until later. Later, she decided, when it fit into the conversation well. It wouldn't seem so much like name dropping then, that's what usually worked for her.

"Name?"

"Andrea Sachs."

There was clicking of a keyboard in the background. "I don't have you in our database. Dr. Patel currently isn't taking any new patients right now. I can however refer you to a few of her colleagues who are now."

"Oh wow, really, I'm so sorry, but Miranda Priestly recommended Dr. Patel to me when she found out I was pregnant. She said she was the best in town, but I had no idea she wasn't taking any new patients. I'm sorry for wasting your time."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "Ma'am could you stay on the line for just a minute please?"

"Of course." Andy smiled. Miranda's name always worked wonders anywhere in New York. Then again, Miranda herself had said this would happen. She wondered what in the world she'd done to get the doctor under her thumb. She wondered if Miranda would tell her if she asked.

Three minutes of hold music later the woman picked up the phone again. "Miss Sachs?"

"Yes?"

"It seems we do have the space to squeeze you in after all. Now you said you were pregnant, have you been to your family doctor for confirmation?"

Andy went through the rest of the information the woman needed easily. By the end of the phone call she had an appointment set for the next week. Her first appointment for her OB. Andy sat back and flipped her cell phone around in her hands for a few seconds. She had accepted that this was all real before, but there was just something about this that made it _more_ real.

She sighed. She was really and truly doing this. Andy set her phone down on her desk in the little cubby she'd designated for it and went back to work. At least now there were a few emails to sort through to get her mind off of everything. Overwhelming wasn't even beginning to cut it.

The run through came and went in the flurry of colors and clothes racks. She listened to Miranda cutting down a few people with a small smile on her face. Miranda was almost funny with her insults when you weren't the one standing in the line of fire. Dry, deadpan comments were something that Andy had always found amusing. Warmth blossomed in her chest, sitting there thinking of Miranda. She really was an amazing woman, if a little prickly.

Everyone scurried out at the end. Miranda dramatically exited her office, calling for her coat and bag. Andy shot up and grabbed both items while Emily looked on, typing out another email to a young designer that Andy really couldn't stand. When she helped Miranda into her coat she picked up her note pad. Miranda always fired off another round of orders right before she went to a meeting.

She didn't disappoint. "Call and confirm with Jemma that dinner tonight is at seven. I will be out of the office no later than six, I don't care who gets bumped to tomorrow if something runs over. I expect the two of you will keep everything running on time to make sure that that does not happen. Call Alexander and tell him that I need his samples in order to put him in the next spread. The budget report that Irv is hounding me for is on my desk. Emily, you will take that to him and you will make it clear that I will not talk to him anymore on the subject of money this quarter. Our revenue so far outweighs our spending it's laughable. We've paid for Auto Universe's running budget for the next year alone with something spare. Make sure the makeup department knows that I want test shots of their proposed looks for the next photo shoot. Call Dolce and Gabbana and inquire if their ad department is just incompetent or if they really want that ad space they bought. God knows there are a hundred other companies that want it. I will be back no later than four thirty and I want coffee when I get back. And Andrea?"

Andy perked up. "Yes, Miranda?"

"Have you called the people I asked you to?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"I've done everything you asked Miranda." She smiled keeping it purposely vague in front of Emily. She liked the red head and all, but she was a horrible gossip and Andy still needed some time to sit with this decision before she let anyone else in on it.

"Good. Andrea, you will deliver the Book tonight." And with that she was out of the office in a swirl of lightly floral perfume.

Andy pouted for a good half a second before sitting back. She really hadn't missed Book duty, but then again Miranda probably had some reason or other for making her do it after Dr. Jones's orders for her to get plenty of rest. She glanced over at Emily. Maybe a conversation away from listening ears. Or maybe not. It was Miranda after all.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the three week delay. I ended up getting a prompt that I thought I could do everything in 5-6k, but now it's over 13k and I'm sitting here like, whelp. So, if any of you want another multi-chapter to follow, it's called En Pointe and features ballerina Andy and the Miranda we all adore. But that's another story, never mind anyway, here's this chapter, enjoy guys.

* * *

><p>Andy turned the key in the front door of the townhouse and walked in quietly, heels barely making any noise on the hardwood floor. And yet Miranda still heard her anyway. The woman had preternaturally hearing, Andy swore.<p>

"Andrea," Miranda voice drifted in from her study.

Andy strode forward and found Miranda curled up in an overstuffed chair, laptop perched securely on the wide arm of the chair and her legs tucked underneath her. If Andy dared to call the Dragon Lady cute, well, it would've been a cute scene. She handed Miranda the Book and sat down in a chair across from Miranda. It was the one she had seen the woman in the last time she'd been in this particular room, the one Miranda had commanded her to go to Paris with her. It wasn't exactly her favorite room within Miranda's house to be sure.

She looked up to find Miranda staring at her intently, glasses tracing her lips, the lipstick from earlier in the day either removed or worn off. "You'll need new clothes soon. If you would prefer to hide the pregnancy until you are ready to tell everyone at Runway that will constitute a different wardrobe that something that will merely fit. I have designer options lined up for both."

Andy took a sharp breath. God she hadn't even thought about clothes yet. "Will I really start to show that soon?"

Miranda nodded. "You will. I started showing a bit earlier of course because of the twins, but between three and four months you will. And since it's already been two, it will be sooner rather than later. Especially since your clothes are already a bit snug."

She ran her hand through her hair. It was the end of the day, the mess she just made of her hair really didn't matter. "They make designer maternity wear?" Andy snorted. "That doesn't seem like something that actually exists."

"Mmm, I'll admit many designers do not do maternity collections, but they are out there if one knows where to look. What, Andrea, did you think I wore Walmart maternity wear while I was pregnant?" Miranda arched an eyebrow.

"No, but then again you have designers who would die to have your wear something of theirs. I'm just a nobody to them. The new Emily." She shrugged.

"You are much more than the new Emily and certainly more than a nobody." Miranda's gaze was enough for Andy to back down from arguing the point. She was a nobody, but she was fine with that. Not everyone got to be Miranda Priestly. She would make a name for herself when she finally moved on to journalism, whenever that may be.

"Now, it still stands, would you like to hide the pregnancy for a bit or would you rather tell everyone and rip off the Band-Aid as it were."

Andy shook her head. "Um, yeah, I'd like to have a bit to tell everyone. I just kind of became ok with it over the weekend. The continued headspace to deal with everything on my own would be nice. Maybe after figuring out some things I'll be more enthusiastic about telling people, but for now, no."

"Understandable." Miranda stood up. "Come on then." And she strode out of the room, bare feet barely making a sound.

Andy shot up and followed her, wondering what in the world was going on. Miranda led her up the steps of the townhouse onto the second floor. They walked through the hall where Andy had come across Stephen and Miranda fighting. She shivered remembering the look on Miranda face that night. Murder would have been a kindness if Miranda had truly gotten ahold of her, she was sure. Harry Potter was bad, but she was sure that was much better than the alternatives Miranda had thought about in the moment.

She led them both into what looked like a bedroom, decorated in warm earth tones that made it feel cozy. On the bed was enough clothing to fill her closet twice over in her apartment. And it all clicked into place just why Miranda had drug them up here.

"Miranda—"

Miranda cut her off before she even got out more than a word of protest. "Andrea, if you're on a shoestring budget already do you really think you would be able to afford any clothing, let alone the type of clothing you need to work at Runway? If you went back to Target originals you would inevitably draw undue attention to yourself, which I know you don't want. People would ask questions and someone would figure it out before you wanted."

Andy stared at the other woman in surprise. It was a bit freaky that she'd predicted what Andy was going to say before she even said it. Then again, it was Miranda so was it really that out of the ordinary? Probably not. She sighed.

"Besides, if you are worried about expenditure of my own money despite what I have told you repeatedly, I didn't spend any money at all to get these." She waved her hand over the bed. "Surely you realize that by calling designers myself and expressing interest in their collections, especially ones that do not get much attention such as maternity wear, any sane designer would have thrown free samples at me with glee."

Andy bit her lip. No she actually hadn't thought of that, but now that Miranda mentioned it, it made perfect sense. After all, how often was she on the receiving end of cast offs Miranda didn't want that the designers had foisted upon her.

"Ok."

Miranda nodded. "Good. Strip then, we have a great many clothes to get through and you still need your rest."

Andy stared at the other woman, convinced she hadn't heard her right. Strip? Um. Miranda may be used to people just changing in front of her after years in the fashion industry, but Andy wasn't a model and would never be. She liked to change in the privacy of her own home, or at least an empty room.

"Andrea, you know how I am with glacial paces."

She wondered if this was one of the times she should push against Miranda's wishes or if she should just leave it. Miranda was a woman after all and to try on clothes she wouldn't have to lose her bra or underwear. It would really just be like a bikini. Another sigh escaped her and she pulled the shirt she was wearing over her head, folded it quickly and set it on the chest of drawers at the end of the bed. As soon as she was done Miranda already had a shirt in her hand.

"I think I generally stuck to what I know looks good on you, but some of the new lines that I had to incorporate into your wardrobe for the express purposes of hiding your stomach I have a feeling might not fare well on you."

Andy pulled the shirt on and smoothed out the wrinkles. It was flowy and settled around her loosely and ironically enough it was a brilliant shade of cerulean. She wondered if Miranda had chosen the shade purposefully or if it was just a coincidence. Andy looked at Miranda to find just the barest smirk on the other woman's face. Definitely on purpose then. She felt like groaning and laughing all at the same time. Of course it was on purpose. It was Miranda. She would remember the most humiliating lecture of Andy's life. Only now it almost felt like an inside joke.

She shrugged just slightly and looked at herself in the mirror across the room. She didn't think she looked bad in the shirt. It was a bit different than she normally wore, but then normally she didn't need to hide a baby bump. She waited for Miranda's opinion though before getting too attached to the shirt. A nod from the woman and Andy smiled. Well, one down.

She took off the shirt and Miranda had another in her hand, taking the first from her.

"Roy will drop off the ones that fit you well tomorrow after you return home."

"Ok, thanks." She really hadn't looked forward to lugging home bags and bags on the subway. She slipped on the next shirt and held back a lip curl. It so did not look good on her. Light pink was not her color, though she was sure that Miranda had another name for the color, no matter what it looked horrendous.

"No, no, I don't think melon looks good on you."

Andy held in a laugh. She wondered how Miranda remembered so many names for so many different colors and how she even spotted the difference between some of them. She shrugged and pulled off the shirt, not sad to see it go, wherever Miranda even put it. Another shirt was there before she could think much.

"So you were successful in obtaining an appointment with Dr. Patel?" Miranda asked, surveying the next shirt Andy had put on, an emerald green empire waist this time. She nodded again and the process started over.

"Yeah, the appointment is next week on Thursday. Since I'm about two months in they'll do another round of blood work and a PAP smear." Andy's nose scrunched at that. She really hated those things. "Just a regular routine exam really, I guess. I'm going to do a bit more research on everything to make sure there aren't any questions I want to have answered while I'm there, but other than that seems like it won't be bad."

"Good." Miranda's eyes flicked up to hers in the mirror, tugging on a shirt Andy apparently didn't have on quite right almost absently. "Would you like me to come to this appointment as well?"

Andy nodded. "Yeah, that would be great." A little bit of tension that she had been holding onto relaxed. She really didn't want to go to the first OB appointment alone. She could manage the next round all by herself, but not the first one, not when everything was still so precarious.

Miranda seemed to relax a bit too. "Acceptable. Move my schedule around accordingly them tomorrow."

"Will do." Andy bit her lip for a second before deciding to ask. "So what exactly does Dr. Patel owe you that her office is trained to respond to your name and bend over backwards?"

Miranda arched one perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Who says she owes me anything at all?"

Andy looked at Miranda, expression deadpan.

"Oh fine, if you want to say that she owes me anything at all, it's her rather…elevated status as a doctor. I wasn't always Miranda Priestly Editor-in-Chief. Once upon a time I went to midlevel doctors like everyone else. Dr. Patel was one of those doctors. And as you know I prize loyalty perhaps above all else and so those who are loyal to me are rewarded, if only in a roundabout way. You would be amazed what a few positive words about a doctor will do for their reputation when it comes from the right mouth. Dr. Patel only acknowledges what has come about through no true effort of my own. I only spoke the truth. She is a wonderful doctor. People just listened because of who I was, no more or no less. I do, however, appreciate every favor that the woman has granted me in return and I believe she realizes this. There is a great mutual respect between the two of us, I believe."

Andy considered what Miranda had just said. It made sense, at least from Miranda's point of view. She wondered how Dr. Patel actually felt about the whole arrangement, but she wouldn't ever get that side of the story, so her curiosity was sated for now.

"Oh, ok."

"I know you were upset over my treatment of Nigel in Paris, and I do realize this. It wasn't pleasant for me either. But Nigel will be given his due recompense as soon as I find an opportunity that suits him."

Andy looked into Miranda's face. The other woman wasn't looking at her, but at the pants Andy was now in, frowning at them. They would go soon, Andy knew. But the woman looked completely sincere about what she'd said. Nigel had been uncertain and she'd been downright skeptical, but now here was Miranda bending over backwards for her and she hadn't done nearly the amount that Nigel had done for her. Nigel would have his day it seemed and that soothed something inside her that she hadn't realized had still hurt.

"I believe you."

It was such a simple sentence, but the way Miranda reacted, looking up to Andy, obviously checking to see if she had heard the other woman right and then to check if she was sincere, it was something more. It broke Andy's heart a bit to see. How was it that a woman who had everything in the world didn't have someone to tell her they believed in her? Or maybe it was that she never heard the other people who did. She couldn't quite believe that Martha would let Miranda go without some sort of assurance that she was indeed believed in.

"Yes, well," Miranda said, shaking off the open expression that had slipped through her normal mask. "I have no idea what in the world the designer was thinking with these pants, but they are not to be worn. They only look pretty on the hanger and of what use is that to anyone. Change."

Andy let the moment slip by, stripping out of the pants as efficiently as possible. Miranda had emotions like everyone else, but she understood more than anyone that the other woman liked to deny that fact as much as possible. Pushing would get her nowhere.

"I never liked light wash jeans anyway," Andy said, handing them over.

Miranda just nodded and Andy smiled, just a tiny thing, but it was there. She felt like in that nod she'd just won a little secret from Miranda, the kind that didn't hurt. And she liked those the best.

"Dark wash have always looked better on you." Another pair of pants were handed over and the process continued once more.

* * *

><p>Andy ended up with at least a couple weeks of serviceable outfits from the impromptu fashion show with Miranda even with Miranda's exacting clothing standards. Paired with what was already in Andy's wardrobe she could make it stretch for a couple more at least until she really got bigger. But by then there would be no point in hiding and she wasn't about to take flak from the clackers that she wasn't breaking the bank spending all her money on clothing she would use only for a few months of her life before being rendered completely useless again. Right now anything and everything extra she had would be going into savings for the inevitable expenses ahead.<p>

She sat at Runway on Friday at the end of the week with a smile on her face. The work was done for the day really, Miranda was already out of the office, at one last meeting before she would be going home to spend the weekend with the girls. Andy found it sweet that the divorce from Stephen seemed to be bringing them a bit closer again. Miranda loved the girls to death, but a rough home life did have the habit of straining even the strongest of relationships and Stephen for the last few months had definitely made things rough. Andy quelled the urge to punch the bastard. She really would get nowhere with that urge except in jail and she really, really didn't want to end up in jail, especially pregnant. She shivered.

She scrolled through a few last minute workday emails, but none of them were actually important enough to reply to. She trashed them and clicked over to the internet browser. While she was still here for the remainder of the work day she might as well get a bit more research done. She pulled up google and started to search for reputable websites on pregnancy. She would be prepared for this first appointment no matter what.

Across the room Emily sat tapping on her keyboard, no doubt emailing or IMing Serena about whatever fashion faux pas was the talk and laughing about it. She wondered if Emily would ever realize that Serena stared at her like she was her first meal after a month of starving. They worked well enough Andy thought it would work. Then again, Emily was so hung up on Miranda maybe not.

She scrolled through the first few results. She had already looked up the schedule of testing that she would undergo for the pregnancy. The medical aspect of everything had been her first stop on research since there was just so much to research. There was still more to go, she hadn't looked up anything on hospitals and what to expect and what her options at the end of her pregnancy were, but for now she had laid that by the wayside to look up the changes she'd be going through week by week. Considering on and off all day she had felt like she was about to fall asleep standing up she figured it was a worthy past time.

Morning sickness was the first thing listed for the seventh week of pregnancy. Yeah, she'd already totally been there done that more than once today even though it hadn't been a super bad day. Mood swings not so much. She thanked god for that. The last thing the office needed was two highly charged women causing terror. Though she highly doubted that she could actually make anyone shake in their boots like Miranda did. She smiled at the thought. Breast soreness, yeah that had been kicking in, but then her barely there La Perla underwear really didn't exacerbate that much. And constipation. Yup. Wonderful symptoms really. It was glorious being pregnant.

At least the glowing skin part of pregnancy might be right around the corner. She smirked. Emily would totally notice and bug her to know what she was using. When she said nothing it would drive her crazy. She liked Emily, she did, but if she didn't take pleasure in the little things then she would've been driven insane ages ago.

Miranda had been spot on target with the maternity clothes selection apparently. The guide she was looking at said seven weeks was about the time to start shopping. Good thing she had some things already squirreled away. That was at least one thing off her list.

She was about to look at some of the weeks ahead when her eyes started to drift closed again. Gosh she was really tired all of a sudden. This really sucked. She looked over at her mostly empty desk, seeing it now as a rather large pillow instead of a work surface. Miranda was out of the office and her work was done for the week. Surely a quick cat nap wouldn't be the end of the world. Normally these nap attacks didn't last long, twenty minutes or so before her body managed to restart and she was awake again.

She sighed and turned her chair away from the computer, minimizing the browser window she was on and curling up in her chair. She laid her head down on the desk and was asleep in almost an instant.

And then was woken up what couldn't have been five minutes later to Emily scoffing loudly, crumbling up a piece of paper, and then throwing it at her. She missed by a long shot but Andy was still up again, glaring at Emily in what she hoped was her best imitation of Miranda. Emily, however, didn't seem phased.

"So now not only are you gaining weight your napping on the job?" Emily rolled her eyes. "What are you, some sort of fat pregnant cow?"

Heels clicked down the hall and both women looked up as Miranda entered. Miranda pinned Emily with a glare that actually made Emily scooch back in her chair. She tilted her head to the side and threw off her coat and bag straight onto Emily.

"A fat pregnant cow would be doing much more than you are right now, Emily. At least they would be growing another being. You seem to be doing nothing more than sitting there gossiping your day away. Tell Serena while you're talking to her that I would like to see her latest ideas on my desk before I leave in half an hour. That shouldn't be hard since you're already IMing her, now will it?"

She strode into her office, leaving ice in her wake.

Andy had to hold in a snort at Emily's rather floored face. She just turned to her screen again and refreshed Miranda's email to find that there was nothing of note this late on a Friday, not really a surprise. With Miranda leaving in half an hour there shouldn't be too many more tasks that the woman would add before sweeping out of the office for the weekend. She would actually get to go home at a reasonable hour. She smiled. A nap was totally first thing on her agenda as soon as she got home.

"Andrea," Miranda said, soft as ever.

Andy sighed. Well if the new set of orders was going to be thrown out she'd rather it be now than later. She got up and strode into Miranda's office, pen and notebook at the ready.

Miranda pinned her with her gaze, sweeping over her appraisingly. "Sit."

Andy tucked away the pen and notebook, recognizing that the command now meant that they weren't about to talk about things pertaining to Runway. She sat in the chair right in front of Miranda, crossing her legs, unable to hold in a yawn as she did so. She blinked a couple times before focusing on Miranda again.

"Have you been getting enough rest as Martha instructed?"

"Yeah, solid eight hours normally, no less than six at least."

Miranda nodded at that. "Good. And last night?"

"Like eight and half I think. Not exactly sure what time I conked out."

Miranda's lips pursed just slightly. Andy thought that probably had to do with her word choice more than anything. She tried not to smirk. At least she hadn't said stuff.

"And so your yawning and drooping eyes today has not been from lack of sleep."

Andy shook her head. "I think it's more a symptom of everything else."

Miranda nodded, picking up her pen again and scribbling down a few notes. "I see. I remember that particular symptom. No one, however, dared to mention to me that I dozed off in the middle of a meeting or in the middle of a conversation. I do believe they were too scared to, as they should have been." She looked up at Andy, a particular twinkle in her eye.

Miranda Priestly, Queen of the world of Fashion, was joking with her. Andy could believe it, but only because of the last two weeks and everything that had happened. She smiled, full blown and bright.

"Of course, Miranda."

"You live on the Lower East Side, yes?" Miranda asked, completely changing gears.

Andy nodded. "Yeah on Essex Street, why?"

"Good, that isn't terribly out of the way of where the twins have a soccer game tonight. I will drop you off on the way."

"Uh, you don't have to do that, Miranda. I don't want you to be late the twins' game."

Miranda waved off her concern. "Nonsense, Andrea, we will leave with plenty of time to have you home and to get me to the game. Be ready in twenty minutes, as long as Serena doesn't disappoint me we will be leaving then."

"Ok then. Thank you, Miranda."

"We can't have you catching something among the crowd on the subway, now can we?" Her eyes flicked down to Andy's stomach. "Your immune system won't be what it normally is for the next few months."

"Just another perk, I guess."

Miranda's face brightened just the tiniest bit. "Yes, but I find it all was worth it in the end." She shook herself. "Now eighteen minutes, Andrea."

"Yes Miranda." Andy stood and walked back to her desk, smiling without knowing it.


End file.
